This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Barbershop Quartet Roots Tied to Truman Elvis History
Historians trace barbershop’s roots to Civil War era songs sung in towns like Independence Missouri. Elvis Presley and Harry Truman are linked by a claim that Love Me Tender echoes Aura Lee, a Civil War era chorus. The SPEBSQSA society in Wisconsin now hosts a mid year convention in Tucson attracting about 500 members and top quartets. Dr. Robert Johnson notes Civil War soldiers sang together, shaping close harmony. The movement grew with vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley, formalizing as a four part chorus by 1908.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harry Truman
Elvis Presley
Independence
Harry
Elvis
Presley
Aura Lee
Men In Blue
U.S
Society For the Preservation and Encouragement of
America
Spebsqsa
Oklahoma
New Deal
Tucson
Robert Johnson
Johnson